By
1997 the total housing shortages in the country was estimated to be 13.66 million
units, out of which 7.57 million units would be in the urban areas. More than
90% of this shortage is for the poor and the low income category. It was estimated
that an investment of Rs.1,51,000/- crores would be required to bridge this
deficit, but not more than 25% of this will flow from banks, financial institutions,
Central and State Governments. It was further estimated that Rs.2,50,000 crores
shall be required for urban infrastructure during the Ninth Plan, but not more
than 10% would be available from Government sources. Therefore no significant
headway can be achieved without massive participation of the private sector.
This called for creation of enabling environment by way of legal and regulatory
reforms and fiscal concessions to encourage non-government sector to take up
land assembly, housing construction and investment in infrastructure services.

The Government
through a National Agenda declared HOUSING FOR ALL as a priority area and has
set a target of construction of 2 million houses every year with emphasis on
the poor and deprived, out of which 0.7 million houses shall be constructed
in the urban areas.

With this background,
the New National Housing and Habitat Policy (NHHP) was formulated in 1998. The
Policy was laid before the Parliament on 29.07.1998.

Objectives

The Housing and
Habitat Policy 1998 aims at:

Creation of
surpluses in housing stock either on rental or ownership basis

Providing quality
and cost effective shelter options, especially to the vulnerable groups and
the poor

Ensuring that
housing, along with the supporting services, is treated as a priority and
at par with infrastructure sector

Forging strong
partnership between private, public and cooperative sectors to enhance the
capacity of the construction industry to participate in every sphere of housing
and habitat

Using technology
for modernising the housing sector to increase efficiency, productivity, energy
efficiency and quality

Empowering the
Panchayat Raj institutions and village cooperatives to mobilise credit for
adding to the housing stock

Role
of all the Stake Holders

The
NHHP 1998 lays down the role of all the stakeholders for achieving the goal
of providing shelter to all.

The
Central Government would -

take steps to
bring in legal reforms including formulation of effective foreclosure laws.

devise macro
economic policies to enable flow of resources to the housing and infrastructure
sector,

develop a debt
market for housing and infrastructure fully integrated with the financial
markets in the country

set up a National
Shelter Fund to meet the requirement of low cost funds for the housing needs
of the poor

promote research
and development and transfer of technology for construction of houses

evolve parameters
for optimal use of available resources to promote development and growth in
a sustained manner

provide fiscal
concessions for housing, infrastructure, innovative and energy saving construction
materials and methods and also set up a regulatory mechanism to ensure that
the concessions are correctly targeted and utilised.

develop and
enforce appropriate ecological standards to protect the environment and provide
a better quality of life in human settlements;

promote the
creation of a secondary mortgage market.

The
State Governments would -

liberalise the
legal and regulatory regime to give a boost to housing and supporting infrastructure

promote private
sector and cooperatives in undertaking housing construction for all segments
in urban and rural areas.

undertake appropriate
reforms for easy access to land

facilitate training
of construction workers by converging other development programmes through
Building Centres and other agencies

promote decentralised
production and availability of building material

empower the
local bodies to discharge their responsibilities in regulatory and development
functions.

Housing
Boards/Corporations/Development Auithorities and other public agencies would
-

revamp their
method of working and redefine their role for facilitating land assembly and
development of infrastructure

move away from
direct construction activity

forge partnerships
with the private sector and cooperatives for housing construction in an efficient
manner

devise flexible
schemes to meet the user's requirement

The
Corporate, Private and Cooperative Sectors would -

take the lead
role in land assembly, construction of houses and development of amenities

forge partnership
with State Governments and local authorities for construction of houses

collaborate
with the State Governments to work out schemes for slum reconstruction on
cross subsidization basis

Research,
and Technology Transfer Organisations would -

direct research
efforts to locally available raw materials

reduce the use
of scarce natural resources and replace them with renewable resources

standardise
the new technology for easy adoption by various public and private construction
agencies

promote energy
efficiency in building materials and construction methods.

promote use
of renewable energy sources for the housing sector particularly, solar, bio-mass
and waste based energy

promote disaster
mitigation techniques for new constructions as well as strengthening of existing
houses to prevent continuing loss of housing stock and human lives from natural
hazards like earthquakes, cyclones and floods

disseminate
information about new technologies and provide training to construction workers
in the use of new technologies.